sue_donim
08-25-2005, 10:31 PM
here's a article I came across some years ago. I believe it was written by DR Chris Coleman.
Apologies if this has been posted before.
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A few decades ago men and women had the same sort of life
expectancy. Today's figures show that women now live seven years
longer than men. The life expectancy of the average white woman
is now nearly 80 years. The life expectancy of the average white
man is just above 70 years. Today men die earlier from all
leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, accidents,
violence and suicide.
There is no sound physiological explanation for this massive
difference in life expectation. Women do not naturally live
longer than men. At the turn of the century women and men had an
identical life expectancy. This vast difference in life
expectancy is due to something that has happened this century.
And I suspect that the explanation is social.
In recent years women have quite reasonably claimed the
right to do nearly all of the things that men do - and to behave
in many traditionally male ways. Women now fight fires, drive
lorries, sit in the boss's chair and exhibit emotions which were
traditionally regarded as male - and which, in the past, women
usually had to suppress. Women can be as tough and as aggressive
as men without anyone thinking any the worse of them. And they
can wear male clothing without anyone batting an eyelid.
But while women have won the right to exhibit qualities
which used to be regarded as `male' - without losing their
feminine qualities - most men still don't feel able to exhibit
traditionally female qualities.
Although they now have to cope with a world in which women's
rights and expectations have changed most men still hide their
emotions from one another and from themselves. And it is the
burying of their emotions which results in men suffering so much
damage from stress. At heart most men are just as romantic,
compassionate and sensitive as most women. Indeed, women tend to
be much stronger and more capable of dealing with divorce,
unemployment and bereavement than men are.
Most men dare not admit their femininity to themselves - let
alone show it to others. They bottle up their feelings and suffer
from high blood pressure, heart disease and weak immune systems.
As stress becomes increasingly invasive and inescapable so men
suffer more and more from stress related disorders.
It is social changes which are killing men and filling our
hospitals and old peoples homes with octogenarian widows. While
women have enlarged their role in society (and have, as a result
become healthier) men have been pushed further and further into
their destructive and damaging masculinity. Men are still taught
that they must be heros. They must perform and succeed to win
love and respect. Men who can't cope are weak.
The theory that men are men, that women are women and that
in addition to the obvious physical differences there are
fundamental physiological and psychological differences which
mean that men and women see the world through entirely different
eyes and must, in consequence, respond entirely differently to
identical stimuli is a nonsense. To a large extent the theory no
longer applies to women. But it still applies to men.
Society has tried to define males and females in harsh black
and white tones whereas in reality the truth is a vast variety
of shades of grey. But society's rules and expectations mean that
individuals who do not conform to the strict man-woman dichotomy
tend to suffer agonies; feeling that they have failed themselves,
their families and society. Many suppress and repress what they
regard as `odd' or `unacceptable' feelings - with damaging
psychological consequences.
Transvestism is a healthy release of feelings which are
probably far more universal than is generally accepted. I suspect
that those who condemn cross dressing most loudly are themselves
probably struggling to cope with feelings which they do not
understand and which they regard as unacceptable.
Crossdressing has been described as a `symbolic excursion
across gender boundaries'. It is probably a healthier and more
natural excursion than we realise for it enables a man to show
his `softer side'. Male freedoms should include the right to
express their femaleness, in just the same way that women have
fought for and won the right to express their maleness. Anything
else is sexist and unfair. Men should not be ashamed to show
their female qualities; they should not be reluctant to let their
emotions show, to ask for help and support and to combine
traditional male toughness with the soft, gentle qualities which
are hidden deep inside.
And women should do their best to encourage their men to
show their femininity. These days it isn't women who need
liberating but men.
There are many practical ways in which men can let their
soft, feminine nature surface. They can learn to share their
fears and admit to their vulnerability; they can learn to listen
to their instincts more often and they can share their feelings
with friends.
But it isn't always easy to do these things when you've
spent decades doing the opposite.
And so increasing numbers of men are finding that there is
a short cut. By dressing as women they can liberate their
feminine, gentle side - and (temporarily at least) escape from
their aggressive, ambitious, demanding masculine selves.
After all, women dress as men when taking on male attributes
- the woman truck driver wears jeans and a plaid shirt and the
woman executive wears a smart suit and carries a briefcase.
I believe that the benefits of cross dressing are great. In
my view so many transvestites get stress relief from their
crossdressing that doctors should consider encouraging some of
their harassed male patients to try wearing womens' clothing in
an attempt to escape from their day to day worries.
Many people still regard cross dressing as a joke. It is
something that often attracts sneers and giggles. But if there
were more transvestites in our society there would probably be
fewer men suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure and
ulcers. And that's no laughing matter.
Sadly, many of those who have found the courage to escape
from the stresses of twentieth century life by putting on
panties, bra, stockings and a dress still feel guilty about what
they do.
It is time for the sneering to stop and the guilt to be
banished. While women fighting for liberation burnt their bras
men fighting for liberation are now wearing theirs.
Many transvestites admit that their fear of being found out
neutralises much of the stress relieving benefit they feel from
cross dressing. As someone who has gained great relief from
stress by crossdressing and who has been fortunate enough to
receive unqualified support from his partner I was saddened by
many of the letters I received while preparing this report. It
seems to me to be important that those transvestites who feel
able to do so should be open about what they do. Transvestism
will become accepted only when there is less secrecy. It is too
easy for those who sneer or look down their noses to attack
transvestites on the grounds that if they themselves are too
embarrassed about what they do to admit to it in public then
there must be something wrong with it. There is nothing wrong
with crossdressing but there is a great deal wrong with society.
Copyright Statement: Material appearing here is distributed
without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an
interest in receiving the material for research and educational
purposes. This is in accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. section
107.
------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm proud to be one of the shades of grey mentioned in the above article.
Sue_donim :)
Apologies if this has been posted before.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A few decades ago men and women had the same sort of life
expectancy. Today's figures show that women now live seven years
longer than men. The life expectancy of the average white woman
is now nearly 80 years. The life expectancy of the average white
man is just above 70 years. Today men die earlier from all
leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, accidents,
violence and suicide.
There is no sound physiological explanation for this massive
difference in life expectation. Women do not naturally live
longer than men. At the turn of the century women and men had an
identical life expectancy. This vast difference in life
expectancy is due to something that has happened this century.
And I suspect that the explanation is social.
In recent years women have quite reasonably claimed the
right to do nearly all of the things that men do - and to behave
in many traditionally male ways. Women now fight fires, drive
lorries, sit in the boss's chair and exhibit emotions which were
traditionally regarded as male - and which, in the past, women
usually had to suppress. Women can be as tough and as aggressive
as men without anyone thinking any the worse of them. And they
can wear male clothing without anyone batting an eyelid.
But while women have won the right to exhibit qualities
which used to be regarded as `male' - without losing their
feminine qualities - most men still don't feel able to exhibit
traditionally female qualities.
Although they now have to cope with a world in which women's
rights and expectations have changed most men still hide their
emotions from one another and from themselves. And it is the
burying of their emotions which results in men suffering so much
damage from stress. At heart most men are just as romantic,
compassionate and sensitive as most women. Indeed, women tend to
be much stronger and more capable of dealing with divorce,
unemployment and bereavement than men are.
Most men dare not admit their femininity to themselves - let
alone show it to others. They bottle up their feelings and suffer
from high blood pressure, heart disease and weak immune systems.
As stress becomes increasingly invasive and inescapable so men
suffer more and more from stress related disorders.
It is social changes which are killing men and filling our
hospitals and old peoples homes with octogenarian widows. While
women have enlarged their role in society (and have, as a result
become healthier) men have been pushed further and further into
their destructive and damaging masculinity. Men are still taught
that they must be heros. They must perform and succeed to win
love and respect. Men who can't cope are weak.
The theory that men are men, that women are women and that
in addition to the obvious physical differences there are
fundamental physiological and psychological differences which
mean that men and women see the world through entirely different
eyes and must, in consequence, respond entirely differently to
identical stimuli is a nonsense. To a large extent the theory no
longer applies to women. But it still applies to men.
Society has tried to define males and females in harsh black
and white tones whereas in reality the truth is a vast variety
of shades of grey. But society's rules and expectations mean that
individuals who do not conform to the strict man-woman dichotomy
tend to suffer agonies; feeling that they have failed themselves,
their families and society. Many suppress and repress what they
regard as `odd' or `unacceptable' feelings - with damaging
psychological consequences.
Transvestism is a healthy release of feelings which are
probably far more universal than is generally accepted. I suspect
that those who condemn cross dressing most loudly are themselves
probably struggling to cope with feelings which they do not
understand and which they regard as unacceptable.
Crossdressing has been described as a `symbolic excursion
across gender boundaries'. It is probably a healthier and more
natural excursion than we realise for it enables a man to show
his `softer side'. Male freedoms should include the right to
express their femaleness, in just the same way that women have
fought for and won the right to express their maleness. Anything
else is sexist and unfair. Men should not be ashamed to show
their female qualities; they should not be reluctant to let their
emotions show, to ask for help and support and to combine
traditional male toughness with the soft, gentle qualities which
are hidden deep inside.
And women should do their best to encourage their men to
show their femininity. These days it isn't women who need
liberating but men.
There are many practical ways in which men can let their
soft, feminine nature surface. They can learn to share their
fears and admit to their vulnerability; they can learn to listen
to their instincts more often and they can share their feelings
with friends.
But it isn't always easy to do these things when you've
spent decades doing the opposite.
And so increasing numbers of men are finding that there is
a short cut. By dressing as women they can liberate their
feminine, gentle side - and (temporarily at least) escape from
their aggressive, ambitious, demanding masculine selves.
After all, women dress as men when taking on male attributes
- the woman truck driver wears jeans and a plaid shirt and the
woman executive wears a smart suit and carries a briefcase.
I believe that the benefits of cross dressing are great. In
my view so many transvestites get stress relief from their
crossdressing that doctors should consider encouraging some of
their harassed male patients to try wearing womens' clothing in
an attempt to escape from their day to day worries.
Many people still regard cross dressing as a joke. It is
something that often attracts sneers and giggles. But if there
were more transvestites in our society there would probably be
fewer men suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure and
ulcers. And that's no laughing matter.
Sadly, many of those who have found the courage to escape
from the stresses of twentieth century life by putting on
panties, bra, stockings and a dress still feel guilty about what
they do.
It is time for the sneering to stop and the guilt to be
banished. While women fighting for liberation burnt their bras
men fighting for liberation are now wearing theirs.
Many transvestites admit that their fear of being found out
neutralises much of the stress relieving benefit they feel from
cross dressing. As someone who has gained great relief from
stress by crossdressing and who has been fortunate enough to
receive unqualified support from his partner I was saddened by
many of the letters I received while preparing this report. It
seems to me to be important that those transvestites who feel
able to do so should be open about what they do. Transvestism
will become accepted only when there is less secrecy. It is too
easy for those who sneer or look down their noses to attack
transvestites on the grounds that if they themselves are too
embarrassed about what they do to admit to it in public then
there must be something wrong with it. There is nothing wrong
with crossdressing but there is a great deal wrong with society.
Copyright Statement: Material appearing here is distributed
without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an
interest in receiving the material for research and educational
purposes. This is in accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. section
107.
------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm proud to be one of the shades of grey mentioned in the above article.
Sue_donim :)